Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Mrs. Oberlander, you’ve given us a lot of helpful information this week about how young children learn. Can you give us an example of a teaching activity that you would use with a child, let’s say, under the age of 5?

June Oberlander:
Well, one that I have liked to do with my grandchildren because you can sit on the floor with them, you use a collection of 10 or more objects and a piece of yarn. And the piece of yarn is placed in a perpendicular position, and the idea is to teach left and right. But children can’t understand the concept of left and right, so I call it “this side” and “that side.” To play the game, I choose an object from my little collection and say, “I’m going to put it on this side.” And I speak to the child and say, “You put it on that side.” And we continue to play until all of the objects have been placed in “this side” and “that side.” And the purpose of this is for listening skills, eye-hand coordination; it also helps with verbal skills, gives a child confidence, and I think some form of independence because I’ve seen children do this game by themselves.

Mike:
Well, Mrs. Oberlander, thank you for this invaluable information and the practical tips about teaching young people 5 and under. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.